States Parties 161 States Not Party 36
ICBL Statement on Implementing Article 5: States with Post-2011 Deadlines
10th Meeting of the States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty
2 December 2010
Mr President, States Parties,
Thank you for giving us the floor again to comment on the states with upcoming deadlines. Regrettably, from what we have heard and learned through the Landmine Monitor, it seems that Article 5 clearance deadline extension requests are becoming the norm rather than the exception. Based on progress to date, it appears the following States Parties are not on track to comply with their treaty obligations by their deadlines: Afghanistan (2013 deadline), Algeria (2012), Angola (2013), Chile (2012), Cyprus (2013), the Democratic Republic of Congo (2012), Eritrea (2012), Sudan (2014), and Turkey (2014).
In addition, at least two States Parties need to report on areas suspected to contain antipersonnel mines on territory over which they assert jurisdiction but which they do not currently control. Where there are such areas and that state's Article 5 deadline is about to expire, to be in conformity with its Mine Ban Treaty obligations, that state needs to have an extension granted by a Meeting of States Parties or a Review Conference. The most pressing is Moldova, which has a deadline of 1 March next year.
In some cases, the reason for delays is inadequate funding; more often, the root causes are delays in initiating a program, poor management, and insufficient political will. In several states with upcoming deadlines, the extent of contamination remaining is still to be clarified, particularly in Angola, the DRC, Eritrea, and Turkey. The ICBL calls on all states to respect Action 14 of the Cartagena Action Plan, which calls on affected States Parties to identify the precise perimeters and locations of all known or suspected mined areas by the 10MSP. As has been discussed at the international cooperation session earlier this week, without clarity on the size of the problem and other elements of effective national ownership, these states are likely to face difficulties in mobilizing both national and international resources and in clearing the land in the most efficient manner.
The ICBL believes that there may be as many as 41 States Parties with outstanding Article 5 obligations, not including Nigeria and The Gambia which indicated today that they no longer have mined areas on their territory. This includes a number of States Parties whose deadline has formally expired without an extension being sought, but whose mine-affected status is uncertain. At least four states-Bhutan, Djibouti, Namibia, and the Philippines-may no longer have mined areas containing antipersonnel mines on territory under their jurisdiction or control. We encourage these states to clarify their mine-affected status and to make a formal declaration to States Parties.
ICBL would like to call on all affected States Parties to adopt and implement appropriate national land release standards as soon as possible. It is critical to focus clearance assets on land that is truly contaminated, while releasing other land efficiently and with the greatest possible safety. Finally, there is still a great need to improve accuracy and clarity of reporting on different forms of land release. This may require international standardization to assist States and operators.
Thank you.
